Like The Great Wall of China built over four thousand years ago to keep intruders out and protect those within, we build walls around ourselves. Though these walls are not of rock, they prevent people from entering our lives as well as prevent us from growing beyond where we are.  Our walls may be harsh words that offend, or walls of silence where we believe we are safe and protected.  However, it doesnít matter what our walls are because in every case, we give up the chance of ever knowing and living the life God intended for us. Sometimes, we recall our past and shut ourselves off to anyone who could have the slightest chance of hurting us again.  Or maybe it is rooted in a feeling of hopelessness when we look at our life, our finances, or our health.  Whatever it is, we ultimately create walls that will keep us away from the very person who can help us ó God.

Fear of the unknown.  A fear that scares us from taking risks to find out what lies outside of our comfort zone.  Instead, we end up just sitting where we are, without any growth.  The walls that we think will protect us and keep us safe from intruders are deceiving.  In fact, the devil wants us to think that our walls are impenetrable so that we depend on these walls. He wants us to feel safe and comfortable behind them and right when we are at ease with this deception, he comes in and strikes us right at the heart. We are devastated and question where God is in all of this.  Why canít we see Him or hear Him anymore?  The walls we build not only separate us from each other and keep us where we are; they separate us from God too.  We prevent God from ever coming into our life.

Today, we are going to talk about how we can live a life without walls and enjoy this life that God intended for us ñ a life of relationships with each other and especially with God. But how are we going to do that?  First of all, you have to understandówho or what is the greatest wall builder.

Fear immobilizes us and prevents us from moving ahead. It limits our ability to grow into everything God wants us to be.  But there is comfort in what David wrote on the subject of fear:

David says, "He is the light, He is the strength, He is ó He is all these things and when we are able to turn over everything to His control and give it up to Him, He will take care of it.  That is who David depended on ó God.  So how do we overcome these fears so we donít have to live a life with walls around us?

1. Refuse to be intimidated.

   Fear not only immobilizes us, but also intimidates us. "Of whom shall I fear, whom shall I be afraid" ó David could not be intimidated. Goliath, a monstrous figure standing before David could not intimidate him.  Davidís eyes were fixed on God.  We need to have that kind of attitude to face our fears. The major battle we fight in facing fears or challenges that come our way is not against a person or circumstances.  Itís against intimidation.

   Intimidation will eat away at us, causing us to be tongue-tied and confused.  We forget even the simplest things in life and each day becomes complicated.  In those times, the simplest thing we can do is pray.  But we forget even that. We forget who we are; we forget Godís word and what He says in the Bible. Instead, we focus on the odds against us.  We blame everyone and everything as we hide behind intimidation.

   For example, the Department of Education is thinking about teaching Biblical creation versus evolution in our schools.  But somebody will challenge the first amendment and the freedom of religion.  They will say that we canít have religion in school and we are intimidated, we are immobilized and forget what Godís word says. We know Godís word is truth and the creation story is in that truth.  So why not teach that to our children in our schools?  But we stand behind a wall and we wonít move beyond where we are.  Take a look at Psalms 34:

   "I asked the Lord for help, and he saved me from all my fears. . .I was a nobody, but I prayed and the Lord saved me from all my troubles.  If you honor the Lord his angel will protect you.  Discover for yourself that the Lord is kind.  Come to Him for protection, and you will be glad." (Psalm 34:4, 6-8 CEV)

   Sometimes everything in our life is going well, we have trusted friends, our relationships are strong and when we least expect it, the devil will hit us from different angles.  He will try to intimidate us and ruin our relationships.

   There was a time recently when the devil tried to do just that. Joy and I had a disagreement and we put up a wall of silence between us.  I thought of all the arguments of why I should win this conflict when I suddenly remembered my wedding vows.  The vows that were told to us said: "You never redefine your love for each other by the circumstances around you, you redefine the circumstances by the love you have for each other".  We eventually resolved our differences because we were able to tear down that wall.  But we never saw the devil when he came in and hit us because we werenít expecting it. After all, we were doing really well in our marriage.

   It is especially in those times when things are going good ñ like coming off a weekend service when you are feeling really good, that the devil will hit you from nowhere.  The devil takes notes and knows what affects you.  His tactics are fear and intimidation. He knows what pushes your buttons, what offends you, and he will use it at the most opportune time.  And YOU know them ó you know your weak points, you know where it hurts and what will hurt you.  But God knows you too ó He knows every part of you and He gives you free access to His promises any time.  Donít let the devil get the best of you; donít believe in what he is trying to tell you.  Donít let him hit you after a really great weekend service and message.  Donít forget Godís promises. God says:

   "I have a future and a hope for you". Jeremiah 29:11

   "I will never leave you or forsake you". Deuteronomy 31:6

   "I will provide everything that you ever needed". Matthew 6:33

   "Heal me Lord and I will be healed". Jeremiah 17:14

   These are promises from Godís word.  When we forget about Godís promises the devil immobilizes us.  Donít allow him to intimidate you again.

   Question 2: Is there anything or anyone intimidating and immobilizing you right now?  What or who is it?

   Not only shall we not be intimidated by fear, but:

2. Maintain your confidence in the Lord.

• Worship Him with all your heart.
• Daily Devotions--read your bible every day.
• Have a heart to serve.
• Prayeróyou have to be praying.

If you want to get close to God and have a continuous relationship with Him, serve, and be in a small group and pray.  Prayer has to be every part of your life. Every second of the day, you need to be praying.

The first thing in the morning when I get up, I pray. I pray for healing, I pray for peopleís lives, I pray for the ministry, I pray for our leaders, I pray for our new upcoming division leaders, I pray for my wife, my son.  Iím in prayer all through the day.  At night before I go to bed, I just praise God ó I donít ask for anything, I just praise Him.  I worship Him because He is such an awesome God.

If you want to get into this kind of relationship with God, if you want to have the confidence in the Lord that you can stand on, then do these things.  Worship, devotions, service, get into a small group and pray.  That will give you the confidence in the God you love so much.

And finally:

       3.  Choose to live on the offense.

• Admit your fears.

• Admit what your fears areóIím fearful of _________.
• Iím fearful of my financial situation,
• Iím fearful of a relationship that Iím going to be dealing with,
• Iím fearful of a decision I need to make

• Commit them to God.
• Release it to Him.

• Refuse to retreat.

Donít ever go back to where you were. When you live your life on the offense, advance the ball down the field. Donít ever go back to where you started.  Stand firm on Godís invincible strength and His word.  Live your life on the offense.

In closing, let me tell you a story of a young woman named Susan.

In 1976, a bride of several months, Susan happily anticipated every new morning. On one particular morning when she woke up, there was a knock at her apartment door.  Since her husband had already left for work, she was a little bit uneasy about this knock.  But, she opened the door anyway and standing in front of her was a man she had never seen before. He seemed nervous and that increased her uneasiness.  He inquired about the location of the managerís apartment. She quickly gave him the information and she shut the door. A few minutes later another knock came and although she was concerned, it was not enough to restrain her actions so she opened the door once more.  This time it was the same man with a large knife, and he shoved his way into the apartment, pushed her back against the wall, locked the door, bolted it and closed the drapes.  He was preparing himself to assault her.

At that fearful moment, Susan, a faithful Christian woman, looked into the face of the would-be attacker and with remarkable calmness said, "I am a Christian.  The Lord Jesus Christ is watching over me right now and Heís not going to allow anything to happen to me that he doesnít want to occur".

The man stared at her blankly; he was completely dumbfounded.

She continued, "Jesus Christ loves you and He wants to come into your life to become your Lord and Savior." And then she asked a question rather pointedly, "Have you ever had the gospel explained to you in a way you could understand it?"

The man lowered his blade and replied simply, "no".

"Please sit down", she said.  And he shoved the knife into his pocket and sank into the chair. For the next one and a half hours, Susan and the stranger discussed the claims of Jesus Christ. She learned that he was new in the area; he had no friends, no money, and no purpose in life. He told her that an inner voice had told him to do what he had done that morning.  And the courageous woman fearlessly pressed the issue.  Just as I opened my door to you not knowing fully what to expect from the other side, so you must do the same in your life. Jesus Christ awaits your decision to let Him in.  Can you think of any reason why you shouldnít?  And he couldnít. She asked him to bow his head and in his own words, he accepted the gift that God was offering him that Jesus Christ was Lord and Savior in his life. Shortly thereafter, he was gone, never to return again.  He never laid a hand on her.

After the man left, Susan was suddenly seized and overwhelmed at her narrow escape from danger.  Never before had she experienced so vividly the truth of Godís protection.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation ó whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid". (Psalm 27)

We all can have lives like that.  When you are facing your fears, you must believe that God is there. You must believe and stand strong on the promises of God.  When you are able to do that, able to resist being intimidated, able to have your confidence resting firmly on the word of God, able to release all your fears into His hands ó there is no need for any walls, there is no need to shut yourself off from others, there is no need to fear.

Believe in the promises of God. Youíll never have to build walls again. Then watch and see the miracles God will do in your life.

Question 5: How will you be changed from what you learned today?

Summarized by: Rhonda Pang